Waist



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

O. M. A. BARRY.

I WAIST. 318,681- Patented May 26, 1885.

WI NESSES INVENTQP W wk, OEQTZOZZeJ [JZBW NY PETERS Phnio-L'lhngnphor, Washinglnn. ac.

(No Model. 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. G. M. A. BARRY.

WAIST.

318,681- Patented May 26, 1885.

3, IN m T5 R llNTTnn STaTns PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLOTTE M. A. BARRY, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

WAIST.

SPECIFICATIQN forming part of Letters Patent NO. 318,681, dated May 26, 1885.

Application filed April 28, 1884. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it 12mg concern.-

Be it known that I, CHARLOTTE M. ADAMS BARRY, of Boston, county of Suffolk, State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in lVaists or Garments for Ladies, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like letters on the drawings repre senting like parts.

Prior to my invention ladies who wished to retain elegance of figure and obtain support for the body have been obliged to wear corsets, which, besides unduly compressing the body to the discomfort of the wearer of the corset, are open to the objection that they cannot be adjusted or loosened at any particular point to ease the body of compression at such points without also being adjusted or loosened above and below the point desired. Further, delicate and invalid ladies cannot wear ordinary corsets such as referred to, because of undue compression of the body incident to their use.

My invention has for its object the construction of an anatomical waist for ladies, having reference to the shape of the figure and its needs for support,which will take the place of corsets, and in a great measure supersede them, and yet give proper support to the body and retain elegance of figure in the wearer, the said garment being adapted to be worn with ease and comfort by invalids and delicate persons who cannot hear the pressure of a corset, it giving to the figure of the wearer all the elegance of shape and support of body imparted by a French corset, without the compression incident thereto.

The nature of my invention is fully set forth in the following description, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

Figure 1 shows in elevation one of my improved waists; Fig. 2, a back view thereof. Fig. 3 shows in detail the several pieces which form the sides,back, and front of my improved waist.

The back A and shoulder-straps a are formed in one piece. The straps a start from the center of the back and incline outwardly (see Fig. 2) and taper toward their ends, the outer or under edges of the said shoulder-straps being curved, as shown, to form the arm size or opening. The shape of the straps and their direction of divergence from the top of the back insure a neat and smooth fit on the back and shoulders of the wearer, and materially increase the support for the back and shoulders, as well as providing a nicer-fitting arm-size.

As shown in Fig. 2, the sides a of the back A are curved inward from the arm-size downward until the waist-line is reached, so as to follow the conformation of the figure; but the back is made wider after passing the waistline, or is made to curve outward to provide the necessary fullness over the hips. Theside pieces, I), are joined to the sides of the back, as shown, and are then connected with the pieces 0, which in turn are secured to the pieces d, all of suitable size and shape, to constitute the front of the waist and cause said front to fit the figure of thewearer. Bias cuts care made in the back at each side of the center line thereof, as indicated in Figs. 2 and 3, the said bias cuts extending fromapoint above the waist-line and near the sides of the back piece downward and inward to points nearthe bottom of the back piece; or, if desired, they may extend entirely to thebott-om line thereof, the purpose of the bias cuts being to remove some of the material and enable the garment to be fitted smoothly to the contour ofthe figure and give a very desirable support to the back of the wearer. The edges of these bias cuts are connected in any suitable manner, as by stitching. (See dotted lines, Fig. 2.) The back is out out or away, as at f, to leave spaces for the reception of two gore-piecesfgfyhich are sewed therein to enlarge the garment to fit over the hips, and as said gores are such as commonly employed in like garments, they need no particular description herein.

The garment is readily joined at the front about the figure of the wearer by means of eyeleted straps h, attached to one half of the waist, which engage a number of hooks, if, attached to the other half of the waist, such straps affording means whereby the garment' 5 may be easily and quickly adjusted at any particular point without tightening or loosening the garment on the figure at other points, which cannot be done where ordinary steels are used.

Buckles or other fastening devices may be substituted for the hooks, if desired.

IOO

The ends of the shoulder-straps may be removably secured to the front of the garment, as with eyelets, as shown in Fig. 1, to provide the proper arm-sizes.

The garment may be stiffened with cord, hair-cloth,or with any other suitable material, although in the present instance I have shown it stiffened with cords in groups, as at m, extending from top to bottom of the garment, and on all its sides.

The bias cuts in the back piece serve to conform the corset to the figure; but these alone will not fully accomplish this; hence auxiliaries must be provided. A lace will not do it, because it cannot be drawn and stay tighter at one point than another; but if a number of fastening devicessuch as I show, for example'be'employed, each of which is independently adjustable, then the garment can be drawn tight, for example, at the waist and let loose at the breast or abdomen.

The garment would be uselessif not stiffened, I and thebias cuts andindependently-adjustable l fastenings of no account if the corset were not otherwise shaped through its pieces 12 a d g.

I claim- 1. A waist for ladies wear, consisting of a back,A, the shoulder-straps a, bias cuts e e in said back, gores g, the pieces b c (1, suitable stiffe'nersmt, and the independ ently-adj ustable fastening devices for the front, substantially as shown and described.

2. In a waist for ladies wear, the back A. comprising the bias curvilinear cuts a 6, having their edges united and arranged on each side of the longitudinal center of the back, and beginning at points above the waist-line from near the arm-sizes and terminating at or near the bottom, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLOTTE M. A. BARRY.

Witnesses:

ISABELLE J. GRIDLEY, ANNIE G. ScHENcK. 

